Bridge element



Oct. 2 9, 1929. P. EBELING BRIDGE ELEMENT Filed May 19. 1928 i 45` 'Itisalso one Patented Oct. 29, 1929 ritmiy EBELI'NQIJ oF 4NEW Levoluti N...Y.

1 AipplicationI-led-fllay 19,A

` l This;invention"relates,toy improvements in 'y bridges,particularly`bridges to ybe used kat v,street crossinlggpetc.,y ,as for instance'described 'y in my (3o-pending application!Serial` No. 121,- 5391iledJnly 9,1926'. v`

It is the `principal object lof this invention lftoaprovide a lyfoldable .or collapsible bridge :which may be .readilry set up, for.instance against thetwa'll of ahoiise and lallowpedesytrians, etc.l`7tolsafely cross a street intersection rbyshtepping fromlthe housefontothebridge into/the hollse on the opposite side of ofthe street. It willbeclearfthat in this manner :the bridge,'may also"` be readily used AIt'will be cleary that any numbeiyof suchnbridges orbrdge elements maybensed to conf V,stitntea bridgeyforthe crossingrof compara' ^,ti1velywidestreets7 by simply Aplacing ythe end, ,l part. of one" elementagainst the y,endparts yoi *flieg* Other:y end` by, simplyV setting the@bridges `fendtoend.Jv Q y y y g-Another object ofiny invention-is Atheproj .VSOnfof bridge element having a roadway, which, lwhilej strongly.constructed,v `is adapt- -tocarry a,greatnumberl o pedestrians and@other loads, and gwhi'chmay berreagdily folded or swonndupon or fromysuitable rollersor .otherc means `in onder to avoid obstruction of etheviewlwhen the'b'ridgeis not ingnse, as for Y i f instance 'not i toprevent Athe free-L view from Athewindows of a house against gwhichithe,ryvbridgeelement is placed. t i Alturthergvb'ect of my invention-is'thepro- Qvision kQta'|` bridge element, allowing awready folding ofthebridge proper against its snp-y l port which may either befeffectedbymanual glabor; by means oitA connterweights, y etc., or byl motorieforce.

40 ,A still further object of myinvention is the ,i provision of abridge element equipped with a counterweight frame .or lthe` like( tofacilitate fr'tlie/ffo'l'ding of lthegroadwayeagainst-` thesnpf'ipertrlspartS-- y i f of they ob] ects kof my invention i-to-,construct the` ymechanism ffor effecting the yifalding' ,and)unfolding of Athe .groadwayg so fthatitvcan. readily be operatedtand issocomf-zbinedwithfthebridgeas to be readily accessiy i591blegandtoconstruct thefoldablevroadway so pedestrians can.' readilyenterfnpon"A the roaders 'Supporting 'the roadway,v and these and "otherobjcctsfand advantagesf-Inyinvention "will becomeimorerifnlly' knownlthe i descripitionjthereojproceeds, andwill then berspecificallydeinedin theapp'endedgclaims..

'materialpart ofthisldisclosure e i byibra'ckets l2; or Athe like.

1,9218. seria1No. 279,030.

that-a-maybe-f1ddfintq@Sambia-Chamber provided kinthe roadway'below ,thestreet .level,` or to construct .this roadway r'aQpluralityzofgparts. 4

It will be'understood'fthatfthe roadway of the bridge element maybes'etup atan inclination so as todgive ready access5'0rthatg'suitablestairs mayibepprovidedby means ofwhich way.` v n 'Lamps,advertisingsigns,"flagsfand other paraphernaliafmaybe convenientlycombined with any of fthebrifdge elements; Qfm'yinvention,l and'ftheseelements may bei constructed with' n or 'withcutl foot parts' accordingJto* 'rep quireinent er the; special fpurpose" for which i, they are 'tobe used.

fThe'baliisters used in'combination Vwith`^ my bridge' elementaref*"foldableiagainst lthe'igirdi Injthe accompanying"drawingsfforminga 4Fig. Lisa side-elevation'ofa bridge'element constigucted accordingtomy invention.y

"ZFigQQ isY atop 'plan viewt-heref seen inthe 'direction of line'2-2fofFignrel l. 30

As illustrated' eaich bridge element has `a pair of verticalI postsfl()yadapted to be placed `@with theilbase 1l .against a house wall etc.,

vrandy secured at their lower'ends in said baseplate or 'foot 1lyagainst whichftliey arebraced :The roadway consistsofa Iijluralityl ofhorizontahparallel and spaced side girders'lpiv- `'otally attachedat'one` endto suitable brackets ill on the vertical-posts 10,andzsuppoi-ted by a framel Cables la're' securedyat their lowerKA endsto the outerend of Ifra-me '15,' and are guidedthroagh Ysuitableopenings* in a cross-barv 17 secured between the-posts 10 .and carrycounterweightsvlS. {To ifacilita'te the elevation otithevbridgefa'GounterLbalance bracket 19, `earryi-n-g a suitable-weighti-20,

A connected therewith-bymeanswofI bars`f22 1s i provided which is4braced near its lower ends byjmeansrof braces 21againstlthe girders 13.100

The elevation of the bridge girders against the posts is eifected bymeans of cables 23 secured at their outer ends to the L shaped frontcross-bar 24 and guided over rollers 25 5 on a cross-bar 26 connectingthe posts 10 near the upper end thereof. The cables are then guidedalongposts 10 downward, and around drums 27 to which their ends aresecured, and which can be operated by means of thecustomarycrankhandles28. Or,theelevating of the girders and the bridgebed therein may also be eli'ected if desired by hand, by means of chains29 or the like secured at one end to the side faces of the girders, asat 30, and guided through suitable sleeves 31 or the like, movablyattached to cross bars 32 secured to the posts 10 so as to projectbeyond the same, and to the rear ends of said bars 32 substantiallyvertical braces 33 for the posts are attached, the lower vends of whichare anchored in the foot parts 11. The roadway proper or walk for thepedestriansetc., consists of a plurality of interconnected Vparallelcross-slats'34, adapted to be rolled upon -or from a roller 35 extendingon one side beyond post 10 and carrying a`suit able operating crankhandle 36.

Cables 37`are attached to the front end of y. the walk, andare thenVguided over a roller 38near the outer ends of the girders and over Haroller 39 to which their ends are secured,

and which is operated by means of a crank 40.V

* Braces 41 arepivotallyconnected at their i upper ends to the si-defaces of posts 10, and theirlower ends engage pins 42projecting fromthe' side faces of girders 13 from which they may quickly beA detached.Similar braces 43 are also pivoted atV their upper ends to the sidefaces of posts 10 while at their lower ends they vare removably attachedto pins 44. )i i Rail posts 45 are pivotally attached at their lowerends to the girders 13 and carry attheir upper ends the balusters 46pivotally secured thereto so as to allow a folding of the balustersagainst the upper face of the girders.

The frame supporting the side girdersis composed of the side bars 15connected by cross bar 51, and longitudinal bars 47 attached at one endto end bar 24 and at the other end to a cross-bar 48 between posts 10.Lamps 49 on suitable brackets are provided at both outer sides of posts10, and a sign board 50, adapted to ,'ontain yany suitable inscriptionor flags etc. y1sl supported on an upper crossbar connecting the posts10. Y

` The operation of my improved collapsible road-crossing bridge elementswill be readily o understood from'the above description by iny spectionof the drawings, and it will be seen that when necessity arises anynumber or series of these elements may be combined to bridge a crossingor' act as a lire escape etc.,

cwithout impeding 4the regular traffic thereythe footless element is setup against houses on opposite sides of a street, the persons may passfrom the windows onto the bridge and into the windows of the oppositehouse.

lVhen not in use the bridge element can quickly be collapsed so as notto obstruct the view, and in case of fire a safe passage from a burningbuilding to a place ofV safetyr in a building on the oppositel sideofthe street may be provided. Y f

It will be understood that I have disclosed 35 the preferred form of myinvention as an eX- v ample only of the many ways to practicallyconstruct the same, and that'I may make such changes in the generalarrangement and in the construction of the minor details thereof: ascome within the scope of the appended claims without departure from myinvention and the principles involved.

Having thus described my invention, what l l claimV asr new, and desireto secure by Letf ters Patentl is,

1. Bridge elements for forming bridges and fire escapes, each comprisinga plurality ofposts, apair of parallel spaced girders hinged at one endto said posts intermediateA their length, braces attached to said post-sand removably secured to said girders, a frame in which said girders aresupported, a weighted counterbalance frame at one end of said girdersfor vholding the same in their horizontally extended Y position, ecables attached to said supporting frame, and weights on the ends ofsaid cables, ak means for elevating and lowering said` girders againstand from said posts, a foldable roadway between said girders, and ameans for winding and unwin ding said roadway.

2. Bridge elements for forming road crossing bridges, each comprising apair of posts, foot parts therefor, a pair of spaced parallel girders,means for pivotally connecting the inner ends of said girders with saidposts intermediate their length, braces attached to said posts at oneend and removably attached to said girders at their other end a frame 'A120 bracket on one end of said girders, an elevated weight on sai-dframe to counterbalance the girders, a cable secured at one end to saidframe and passed through said postsy at an elevation from their parts,weights at the ends of said cables behind said posts, cables attached tothe free ends of said girders, rollers on said posts over which saidycables are guided, a means forwinding and unwinding said cables, bracesfor said posts, foldable" May, A. D. 1928.

PAUL EBELING.

